1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a virtual private network within a larger area network, and in particular to a virtual private network that is simple to establish and maintain so that it is suitable for residential and small office use.
2. Description of the Related Art
Networks of general purpose computer systems and other devices connected by external communication links are well known and widely used in commerce. The networks often include one or more network devices that facilitate the passage of information between the computer systems. A network node is a network device or computer system connected by the communication links. As used herein, an end node is a network node that is configured to originate or terminate communications over the network. In contrast, an intermediate network node facilitates the passage of data between end nodes
Small office and residential home networks are made up of an increasing number of networked devices. These include computers, printers, facsimile machines, Internet telephones, cameras, players for audio and video digital data, and digital data storage devices, among others. These devices may be used to connect to the Internet, or to communicate with one another on a given home or small office local area network (LAN).
It is often cumbersome for a user to share device-to-device connectivity when the devices are not physically located on the same LAN.